Lots of people have trouble reading the Bible because they firmly believe that it is irrelevant to them. They look at the Bible as a book full of dusty old men, and their experiences dealing with a tribal, petulant God who is kind of growing up along side His people, until He has finally left His adolescence in Jesus Christ. Many of us might deny such a notion, but let me ask: are you reading the Word of God, regularly, on your own? Your answer to that question will say much about the truth or falsity of the above statements.
Because it is seen as a book of dusty old men with a cantankerous God, there are two reasons that flow from such assumptions that cause us not to want to read. Firstly, the Bible has to be irrelevant. We want a book that tells us what to do, not another lesson book with facts to be memorized. We want a book that spells things our clearly and carefully. Quite frankly, we in our western culture don’t want to think. As much as we flatter ourselves that we are free thinkers, we have become a culture of people who are spoon fed ideas from the media, and we swallow their bait without processing it. We have learned not to think independently, and find it hard when made to do so. Because it is hard to think, we elect not to, and so we don’t read our Bibles.
Reason number two flows from the idea that God is cranky. So we have a fear of him, and we don’t want to be convicted by what we read. Now there is a basis for a healthy fear of God. And Bible reading should be convicting. We are right to have a healthy fear of the holy, but we need to do so for right reasons. Remember, as Psalm 103 says, He knows our frame and He remembers we are but dust. Hardly sounds like a cranky God to me!
Consider Psalm 105. Psalm 105 is about the faith of some what some would say are dusty old men. They are nothing more than museum pieces to the casual reader. Abraham and Moses, Aaron and Jacob are all dragged out of the mortuary of history, and paraded before us once again, mummified monuments to a bygone day. “Here we go again,” some might whisper, as they fulfill their “duty” to read scripture. “How are these guys relevant to me?” some will ask.
Let’s first remember that it was written hundreds of years after these men lived. To this Psalm’s first readers, these men were long dead. The flesh had long fallen from their bodies, and they were no more than collections of bones. Yet the hearers of this song loved it! They celebrated it! They made it a part of the song book of the temple of Israel, and later generations felt the power of the Holy Spirit upon it...so they recognized it as Canonical. Something in the Words spoke to their hearts, changed their heads, and made a difference in their lives! It certainly seems that some people appreciated this Psalm as more than a museum piece, or teaching ditty.
Consider the story Psalm 105 tells. Don’t think of it as a collection of facts to be memorized and regurgitated in a Sunday School class. Rather, look at what happens to the people named. Look at how God deals with them. Consider the outcome of their obedience in this psalm. Why might that be relevant? Ahh! Yes, I am asking you to think!
As God delivered them, even so, He still acts behind the scenes to deliver. In a tough spot? So was Joseph! And look at what God did for Him! Feeling like you are in the wilderness? The Psalm recounts the wilderness walk of His people. Look at how good He was to them! This week I have been without power in my home. Talk about a wilderness walk! Yet here I sit, generators running, yet nice and toasty warm, well fed and washed. God has blessed me by giving more than I needed. God can be so good to you too...at least if you are looking for him to be. But that brings us to the convicting part.
You see, the psalm is a meditation on thankfulness. And for us who are used to having all we want, that can be pretty convicting. Even more so if you think of “thankfulness” as an exercise to placate a cranky God. He’s not cranky. He is good to us! And if we will but recognize that goodness, then thankfulness will begin to flow freely.
Has He done miracles for you (5)? Then remember those works and thank Him!
Has He made covenant with you (8)? Thank Him for it!
Has He protected you when you needed it (14)? Be thankful!
Has He delivered you from a time of hardship to a place of purpose (17-21)? Then praise Him for it!
Consider making your own psalm of God’s work in your life, so that those who follow after you will see your faith and seek to imitate it. Unless your faith has grown dusty too!
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